Strap Hanger: What to Do When Your Dress Strap Breaks

Company holiday parties can be notorious for bringing out employees’ wilder sides, from tabletop dance-offs to cube-mate crush confessions. (Cue that awkward Monday meeting.) But of all the hijinks bound to go down, indecent exposure is one office-party sin you just don’t want to commit. Think ahead if you plan to wear a dress with skinny straps. The last thing you want is for a harmless round of “YMCA” to turn into a dance of shame.

Pin it. The fastest and surest way to fix a wayward spaghetti strap in the moment is with a safety pin, so keep a few in your wristlet. Double up for extra assurance.

Ready, set, sew. If there’s such a thing as a first-aid kit for fashion hypochondriacs, this is it. And when a strap breaks on your favorite dancing dress and you have one of these little numbers in your clutch, you’ll thank us. (Be sure to study up on stitching techniques.)

Tie one on. If the strap splits rather than detaching from the dress, simply knot the separated pieces together. Tightly.

Cut loose. Fortunately, a broken strap isn’t always cause for concern, like when you’re wearing a body-con dress that’ll stay up on its own. If you’re having a carefree moment, just tuck the broken strap and its intact counterpart inside the dress, or simply snip them off. And do so quickly – your dance-off trophy awaits.

By Lindsay Lambert, Editor

Want to know more about fixing fashion hang-ups? Tweet us @ruelala, or check out our Style Snafu column every Monday.

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